A Christmas Story
by FaeSoDivine
Summary: The Naras invite the Sand Siblings to their house for Christmas. Will calamity ensue? Hopefully not. shikatema
1. Nara Yoshino

**A/N: Hey guys. I was suddenley feeling froggy and decided to put together a Christmas fic. Each chapter will be in different POVS, begining with Yoshino Nara's. I will update again either tomorrow or Christmas Eve.**

**Happy Holidays!**

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Honestly, Yoshino Nara didn't know why she invited the Sabaku no family to her house for Christmas in the first place.

It might have been because her son looked so pitiful moping around the house as if he had lost his puppy. In reality, she knew Shikamaru had been in such a grumpy mood because he hadn't seen the fiery Suna kunoichi in a little over a month. The boy suggested that he go visit her for Christmas, and Yoshino put him in place with a whack across his head with a wooden spoon.

After a few more days of him becoming increasingly depressed, she had begun to feel a tug on her heart. It was hard seeing her boy suffer the pains of a long distance relationship. What was worse was that she knew that the couple wasn't like those other teenage couples that pranced around claiming they loved each other. Oh, no, those two were genuine soul mates, but one would never guess that after seeing those two bicker for hours on end.

Yoshino knew it was there, the love. She couldn't deny it. But she felt so sad knowing her baby was growing up after all. Eventually she couldn't take the guilt anymore and she informed Shikamaru to mail the Suna kunoichi a request to spend Christmas with the Nara's. As expected, Temari responded, but she declined the offer claiming she couldn't leave her brothers for the holiday. Yoshino didn't admit that that had touched her heart, but it did. The Suna kunoichi was very much family orientated, even if her family was dysfunctional yet. Yoshino personally mailed the Kazekage after that, requesting that he and his siblings visit. This time, the offer was accepted.

She didn't realize the trouble the guests would bring her until they appeared on her doorstep. The first thing she noticed was the loud brother, the puppeteer named Kankurou. The Kabuki makeup gave her quite a scare. She couldn't even see his face! What's worse was that he was complaining bitterly about the cold snow in a very loud voice. Opting to wave it off then, her gaze settled to the Kazekage. Her eyes widened as she saw what was in his hand; a dead goose that had presumably been killed only some time before, as the blood was still wet on the feathers. She practically lost it all then, wondering what kind of barbaric creature would bring that to her house, but was interrupted as she realized Shikamaru had walked past her, brushing past her shoulder roughly.

Yoshino almost voiced her complaint before she realized her son's attention was on Temari. He was leaning down to whisper something into her ear and the woman's face instantly turned red before she clocked his head with a fist. He grumbled, but Temari used the hand that was on the side of his skull to bring his head down to her level. The couple kissed, and it was then everybody pointedly looked away. Yoshino cleared her throat and said, "Please come in, Kazekage-sama and Kankurou-san. I'm sure Temari-san and Shikamaru will join us shortly."

Gaara bowed, still holding the dead goose as he walked past her into the house with his brother in tow. "Please call me Gaara," he said curtly as Yoshino closed the door behind her. She was sure the couple outside would open the door when they felt like coming in. A nod of her head, and her gaze was once again directed at the goose. Why on earth…?

"Ah, Gaara, thank you so much for your gift," her husband finally spoke. Yoshino stared puzzled as Shikaku took the goose from the Kazekage. "Please, go in the living room and make yourselves comfortable. My wife and I will be in there shortly after we take care of this." With that said, Gaara and Kankurou bowed shortly before walking into the living room.

Shikaku guided Yoshino into the kitchen, where he placed the goose in the sink before turning to Yoshino. He chuckled at the sight of her face and said simply, "It's a Suna tradition to bring a freshly killed goose to the host for Christmas."

Before Yoshino could respond, she was interrupted as the front door opened and Shikamaru and Temari made their way in, very red-faced. They seemingly ignored Yoshino and Shikaku in the kitchen as they made their way into the living room. Yoshino cocked her eyebrow at her husband, who merely grinned.

"Shikamaru's growing up," he said simply. "I'll go in there and get them settled. How about you stay here and start on that?" Before Yoshino could respond, he had quickly left the kitchen and called out to the guests.

_"Alright, everyone settled?"_

She didn't hear anything so presumably the guests had nodded their heads. She sighed as she began plucking the feathers of the goose. To steal a phrase from her boys, this was troublesome. Her Christmas poultry was usually plucked when she bought it from the grocery. Her thoughts were interrupted as a masculine roar of laughter came from the living room. It was presumably the Kankurou lad, because the voice was neither Shikamaru's nor Shikaku's and the Kazekage seemed the type to only laugh quietly.

_"Daaaad!" _she heard Shikamaru groan and something about the silence from Temari told Yoshino that the girl was embarrassed. She chuckled to herself as she finally rinsed off the goose and prepared a pan to put it in. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad…

_"Cheer up, son. Shadow puppets are a great way to provide entertainment." _Yoshino cocked her eyebrows again. Shikaku had a habit of providing…obscene shadow puppet shows.

_"It's not entertainment if you're making fun of me!" _

With a groan, Yoshino put the goose into the oven. Her husband needed to be stopped before he ruined the evening. She set the timer for the goose, washed her hands, and promptly walked into the living room.

Her gaze first sought the shadow puppets. An image of a girl with four ponytails presumably kissing a guy with one pineapple shaped head. She knew instantly it was Temari and Shikamaru her husband was portraying with his shadow. Walking up behind her husband, she hit him on the head with the back of her hand and turned to stare at the guests.

The Kazekage was stoically sitting back in an armchair that was situated by the couch that Kankurou, Temari, and Shikamaru were sitting on. He seemed to be glancing at his brother who was trying desperately to stop chuckling at the state of Shikamaru and Temari, who were both blushing a bright color and slumping backwards in their seats.

"Please excuse my husband's immaturity. I take it you arrived nicely?" Yoshino said, trying to begin a conversation, as she sat on the armchair opposite her husbands. Her gaze was on her son who didn't seem to like being in such close proximity to the puppeteer. He was practically squishing Temari to the couch, so the girl pushed him back quite roughly. Shikaku chuckled in bemusement as Kankurou looked startled for a moment before pushing Shikamaru back. Shikamaru was once again practically pressed against Temari.

"Dammit, Nara! Switch spots with me. At least I can actually stand to sit by both of you!" Temari said loudly, oblivious to her swearing, as she stood up roughly. Shikamaru scooted to the side pathetically before Temari accidentally sat on him.

Gaara coughed after that, and everyone brought their gaze to him. "Yes, we had a nice trip. Thank you once again for inviting us to spend the holiday with your family. And please excuse my siblings' behavior."

"Oh, no problem at all! I'm just glad Shikamaru could stop moping around the house," Shikaku answered for Yoshino, chuckling heartily.

Temari raised her eyebrow. "Moping?" she asked, glancing at the very red Shikamaru beside her who seemed to be desperately trying to disappear.

"Oh, yes. You see, the poor guy missed you so much. He even asked to go to Suna to see you!" Shikaku chuckled again but quickly stifled it as Yoshino shot him a look. As much as she liked her son being put in his place, she could tell the boy was clearly embarrassed.

"You did?" Temari asked him, her eyebrows shot up an alarming rate on her forehead. He merely grumbled something under his breath that made Temari grin. While Yoshino was suspicious of what was being said, she felt that a change of conversation was in order. Not only was her son being embarrassed, the Kankurou lad was tapping his fingers on the couch, clearly bored. It wouldn't have been so disturbing had there not been chakra sparks burning holes in the couch.

"Ahem, so where will you be staying tonight?" she asked Gaara. Thankfully, the sudden voice had caused Kankurou to stop tapping his fingers. Yoshino was sure the poor couch was grateful.

"We have not decided yet. Presumably at the embassy apartments," the Kazekage replied.

"Oh, well, you can just stay here. You shouldn't have to spend Christmas in filthy apartments!" Shikaku said loudly.

"Actually, the apartments aren't that filt-" Kankurou started but was interrupted by Yoshino.

"I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea, _dear,_" she said, staring at Shikaku with narrowed eyes. She was sure her son and the Suna kunoichi were sexually active and frankly, she didn't want them in her house when they did it. It had been enough trouble a few months ago when she found a bra in her son's laundry…She couldn't even imagine waken up to hear…._things._

"Why not? We have two extra guestrooms. I'm sure Temari wouldn't mind sleeping in Shikamaru's room, anyway," Shikaku said.

Yoshino was also sure Temari wouldn't mind, as the latter was grinning slyly at Shikamaru. However much she knew that the two were planning things…she also knew that it wouldn't be hospitable to refuse guests sleeping quarters after her husband revealed the fact that they did indeed have extra rooms.

"Alright, then. You are welcome to stay if you wish," Yoshino hesitantly said, hoping they would deny.

However, Gaara nodded his head thoughtfully. "I'm sure it would be a good bonding experience," he merely said. "My siblings and I accept your offer."

Once again, she felt that tug at her heart. The way the Kazekage put it was too heartwarming. "That's wonderful," she smiled brightly at last. "I'm also sure it would be a good bonding experience." Her mind couldn't help but think _'in more ways than one…'_ as she stared at Temari and Shikamaru.

"Although I am not too sure about my sister rooming with your son." Yoshino's gaze immediately turned towards him. She really liked him now that he revealed he had the same train of thought as her.

"Oh?" Despite the dark looks Temari was shooting at her brother, the Kazekage continued.

"Yes, I am sure they have begun-" he began but was interrupted by Temari.

"-Gaara!-"

"-having se-"

"-GAARA-!"

"-xual relations..."

Silence filled the room. Not only were Temari and Shikamaru's faces a deep shade of red and they both looked as though they wanted to die, the puppeteer was scooting away from Temari with a disgusted look on his face as though he didn't want to be in breathing proximity of her.

Gaara broke the silence. " ...and I would rather not like to be awoken to-"

This time it was Yoshino who interrupted him. Although she knew he was voicing her thoughts, she really did think her son was pondering committing sebbeku. "We decided to save decorating the tree until you got here, as you can see," she said, directing her gaze to the bare tree and the boxes surrounding it. "We thought it would be fun to let you youngsters and the Kazekage decorate it while my husband and I finished cooking." Yoshino noted that Gaara seemingly forgot what he was beginning to say as he stared at the tree. Shikamaru gave his mother a grateful look although his face was still flaming.

"Please, call me Gaara," Gaara said promptly afterwards. "My siblings and I would …love to 'decorate'. Thank you."

Yoshino nodded her head, grateful the previous subject seemed to be forgotten. "Shikamaru, show them what's in the boxes," she said as she stood up. Shikamaru grumbled and she shot him a look that said something along the lines of 'I-just-saved-your-ass-from-embarrasment-and-I-expect-you-to-do-whatever-I-say'.

She took her husbands hand quite forcefully and dragged him into the kitchen. Once they were out of sight, Shikaku raised his eyebrows. "I thought we were going to decorate with them."

Yoshino waved off the comment as she pulled items out of the fridge. "Shikamaru and Temari were clearly about to die of embarrassment. I only hope decorating can put the Kazekage's mind on other matters."

Shikaku chuckled as he helped his wife pull out pots and pans. "I know you were thinking the same things," he remarked.

Yoshino gave him a dry look. "Yes, but I wouldn't dare say them out loud."

Shikaku once again chuckled as he sat down at the table. "That Temari' sure puts our son in line," he said.

A sudden shout from the living room caused her to jump and drop the pots and pans on the floor.

Yoshino merely grimaced, recognizing the Suna kunoichi's voice…'That Temari' sure reminded her an awful lot of herself.

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**A/N: Next chapter: Temari's POV**


	2. Sabaku no Temari

Temari remained seating a good few seconds after Shikamaru's parents left the room. Once she was sure her face had returned to it's normal color, she stood up at an alarming rate which startled both Kankurou and Shikamaru beside her.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru murmured before relaxing back onto the couch. Temari noted that his face was still red, but turned her attention to Gaara who was staring at the tree before them.

"Gaara, what the hell was that?!" she finally yelled, not at all trying to suppress her voice. Ignoring the sounds of something dropping in the kitchen as if someone was startled, she fumed angrily at him. She couldn't believe Gaara had said that! Not only was _that _bit of information private, but she had always thought Kankurou was the type to reveal her bedroom life to the public.

Gaara merely stared at her a fraction of a second before he stood up. At first, Temari thought that he was going to Sand Coffin her for yelling at him, but she was surprised when he wandered to the Christmas tree. She stared, perplexed as reached out to touch a pine needle lightly. She couldn't believe he had ignored her entirely.

On the couch, a distinct chuckle sounded from Kankurou. She shot a glare at him, knowing he found the whole situation funny. Just like him to laugh at her misery.

She was prepared to yell at Gaara again for ignoring her, but was interrupted as he spoke suddenly.

"Why do people decorate trees?"

Her eyes widened at the innocence found in his voice, her predicament momentarily forgotten. They had never had Christmas trees in Suna because it would simply be absurd wasting water on a plant species unknown to the desert when the whole village was in a drought. Obviously Gaara had never heard of a Christmas tree, much less decorated one.

She bit her lip nervously, then half turned to look down at Shikamaru, who was either admiring her backside or the Christmas tree. He looked up to meet her gaze as he realized she was looking at him. Immediately he grinned, realizing she was requesting help in her own proud way. Giving her a look that read plainly 'you-owe-me-one', he stretched lightly against the couch before standing up. Temari couldn't help but grin as he walked over to the Christmas tree.

"Each village has it's own reasons for decorating trees for Christmas, though it was Konoha that made the Christmas tree popular in the first place," he said as he sat down heavily on the floor and pulled a box towards him. He began rooting around in it as he continued talking.

"It began when the First Hokage passed away. Christmas was known to be his favorite holiday, and the villagers wanted to do something special for the day to honor his memory. He was renown for his abilities to create plants, so the Second Hokage suggested putting trees in everybody's homes."

He paused as he finally pulled out what appeared to be a spherical glass object. With a yawn, he stood up and reached forward to hang the ornament from a branch. Temari noted that Gaara was following Shikamaru's movements with a curious look. The latter sat back down and once more began looking through the box.

"At first, they had a problem deciding which tree to pick. The oak was a popular idea because of it's obvious abundance in Konoha. But the problem with that was that the tree was bare and largely unattractive during winter. So, a new tree came into the picture; a conifer. Not only does it's needles remain on during winter, but is has a distinct pleasurable scent."

Gaara seemed to lean forward and sniff the tree after that comment. Temari had sat back down by then, and she shared and amused look with Kankurou as Shikamaru continued on.

"Once a tree was placed in everyone's houses, people began realizing that it really wasn't _that_ attractive despite it's abundance of leaves. Once again, it was the Second Hokage who suggested decorating it with lights and ornaments. Not only did it make the trees look better, but it also honored the First Hokage's memory even more, as he was known to have a love for decorating." He stopped unexpectedly, pulling out another spherical ornament. He stood up and with an odd sort nod, handed it to Gaara.

At first, Gaara seemed surprised, but then he took it with a nod of his head in a silent thanks. He looked thoughtfully at the tree before him, which made Temari smile to herself. Despite her earlier thoughts of murdering her brother, he looked so innocent as he reached forward and placed the object on the tree.

He stood back to admire it, before turning to Shikamaru once more. "Thank you for telling me that. Temari will be sleeping in your room tonight, although if you touch her I'll personally murder you."

Even though Temari was shocked that Gaara had agreed to let her spend the night in Shikamaru's room, she smirked at the way Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders in a way that suggested he wasn't used to 'thank-you's' that included death threats.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Gaara turned around. His gaze lingered on her as if he was backing up the earlier threat, before he glanced at Kankurou. "I expect both of you to decorate this tree." At first hesitant, Kankurou and Temari shot up as he added, "_Now_", in a voice reminiscent of the Shukaku's. She shared a look with Kankurou as they made their way to the boxes.

At once, Kankurou dove into a box, pulling out a long strand of tinsel. "How do you want this on the tree?" he questioned Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Any way you want. If the tree turns out bad, my mom can't gripe at me because you three are helping." Temari chuckled as Kankurou raised his eyebrows before turning to the tree. As soon as Gaara was rooting around in the nearest box, she turned to face Shikamaru.

"Looks like we're sharing a room tonight," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. After not seeing Shikamaru for a month, she was _really _looking forward to spending the night in his room. Ignoring the look Gaara shot them, Shikamaru merely smirked. "Now help me decorate, you troublesome woman."

She smirked in reply as she sat on the floor and pulled a box towards her. She had really missed the way he called her troublesome. It was different than how he called other people troublesome. It had as much feeling in it as the lazy nin could muster and she began to think of it as an endearment of sorts. Sure other couples had sweeter sounding names like 'honey' or 'dear', but she had her _own _unique nickname and frankly she liked it.

She pulled out a tin box that looked like it had been used as a cookie container once. It had a golden tint to it and the picture of the jolly looking Santa Clause eating cookies was fading, but she could clearly read the words 'NARA ORNAMENTS' printed on the lid. She looked at it curiously, wondering if she should go through the box.

Shikamaru's voice broke through her thoughts. "You can hang those up if you want."

She looked across from her to see him studying her in his own lazy way that made her face flush quite uncharacteristically. He raised his eyebrows in question, but went on. "Each Nara family has a box of these. I think it's troublesome being kept in an old cookie container, but my mother claims it's 'sentimental' that way." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever that means.

Temari looked back down at the tin box and popped the lid off with little difficulty. At once the ornaments made her smile. There were seven wooden deer figures. Four of them were bucks as they clearly had antlers. She picked up one of the bucks and saw it had a name and a date printed on it. Curious, she pulled it closer to her face to read 'SHIKAMARU - SEPTEMBER 22'. She pulled a doe figure towards her and read 'YOSHINO' followed by what was presumably her birthday.

"They are hand carved at birth, or marriage in my mother's case. Its really troublesome, but it's a big deal in the Nara clan. Sometimes families have deer for people outside the clan if they are considered family." He reached over to pick another deer up. "This says 'Chouji Akimichi'. His father has one, as well as Ino and her father."

Temari didn't speak after the explanation. The figures were obviously important to Shikamaru, despite his 'troublesome' comment and in a way it was touching to be allowed to see such an important family tradition. Glancing up, she saw Gaara assisting Kankurou with the tinsel. She only wished her little family could have something as special as these deer ornaments.

She looked back to Shikamaru as she realized he had been staring at her. Avoiding his gaze, she nervously put the deer back into the box and prepared to stand up to take them to the tree. However, Shikamaru reached over to rest a hand on her arm. Startled, she began to voice her complaint before she caught the caring look in his onyx colored eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked earnestly.

She couldn't help but smile a little at his sincerity. It wasn't often they had moments like these. Seeing her smile mimicked on his face, she nodded wordlessly. His hand moved to her face, and he ran a thumb across her cheek leaving a tingling trail. He leaned forward suddenly and caught her lips in a tender kiss, so unlike the usual brusque ones Temari usually forced upon him. She didn't know if it was the 'Christmas spirit' kicking in, but she responded just as gently, wrapping her arms around his neck despite the awkwardness of standing on her knees. His arms hands traveled down to hold her by the waist as his tongue---

"Hey, will you two stop sharing saliva and help decorate?" Kankurou's voice startled them and they both pulled a part instantly, faces red. Gaara was looking on with a killer intent on his eye, although the tinsel wrapped around his body made it look humorous. Temari stood up with all the intent of strangling Kankurou with tinsel. He immediately ran for cover behind Gaara who was struggling against the holds of the tinsel.

"Kankurou, stop hiding behind me like a coward. Temari, stop trying to kill him. Both of you, help me get out of this," he commanded, breaking Temari out of her killing rage.

She finally got a good look at his predicament and immediately startled laughing. Kankurou and Shikamaru followed suit. It was just too comical; Gaara, fearsome killer and Kazekage of Suna, wrapped in Christmas tinsel! She only wished she had a camera with her…

Grinning at Gaara's now red face, Temari leaned forward and began helping Kankurou unwrap him. "How did you even get in this mess?" she asked, pulling tinsel from around his neck.

"I don't know," he responded, gritting his teeth in either embarrassment or anger.

When he was finally released of the tinsel's death grip, the group went back to decorations. Well, Temari went back to Shikamaru, hoping to continue what they were doing.

However, they were interrupted as they heard footsteps behind them. She turned to see Yoshino and Shikaku walk into the room. Her gaze focused on Yoshino who was holding a plate of cookies and what appeared to be a glass container of candy canes. Shikaku followed, balancing a plate of hot chocolate on his hands.

"Come and take a break from your…hard work," Yoshino said, eyeing the Christmas tree distastefully. Temari couldn't help but grin as Yoshino shot her son a dangerous look. It was a good think she and her brothers were helping, otherwise Shikamaru might have been blamed and subsequently punished for the rather odd looking Christmas tree.

She followed Shikamaru to the couch, sitting in the same spot as before. Once everyone had hot chocolate, Yoshino and Shikaku began discussing the tree with Gaara. Kankurou added a comment in every now and then while Temari merely sipped her hot chocolate thoughtfully.

She liked to be able to just sit and feel at home. In her opinion, the Christmas tree was beautiful, although it was only half-decorated and practically covered in tinsel. She liked the idea that they had decorated it _together_ like a normal family should. The conversation ebbed from her conscious as she felt Shikamaru's arm snake around her shoulder. She was practically leaning against him anyway, so she set the hot chocolate down on the coffee table before them and rested her head on his shoulder. Above everything else, she liked the way her head tucked into a perfect fit against the croock of his neck.

She had longed for the day when she could feel like a family. Sitting there with the man she loved holding her, listening to his parents and her brothers talking, she finally felt like her dreams had come true.

"You know, we can always ditch them for awhile," Shikamaru whispered in her ear.

She jabbed him in the ribs. The thought of his bed was nice, but she liked feeling like she was apart of a family even more.

"Sounds good," she said as she changed her mind a few seconds later after Kankurou remarked about their sex life.

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**A/N: Thanks to all who are reviewing... I'm thinking there will be four more chapters. I'm not sure, it depends on how much I'll write tomorrow. Merry Christmas Eve! Next chapter: Kankurou's POV**


	3. Sabaku no Kankurou

A/N:** Guys, I changed my name. Used to be k a j i i n. Remember?**

**Well, I had a nagging urge to update at least one of my stories. And, amazingly enough, my muse cooperated for a while and allowed me to type this up, though it is a page shorter than I would have liked it to be. Unfortunately, as I started working on **_**Of Pen and Paper **_**and **_**Pizza, Love, and all Things Troublesome**_**, my muse ran off yet again, leaving me pounding the keyboard in frustration. I'm really sorry, guys, for not updating anything...I'm just having difficulty with prose lately. I'm actually more occupied with poems and lyrics.**

**I'll stop babbling now. Without further ado, eleven months past last Christmas, chapter three! **

**Disclaimer: Me? Own Naruto? Never! **

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**Kankurou wasn't really having the time of his life as he sat on the Nara's couch and listened to Shikamaru's parents and Gaara talk about the Christmas tree. Honestly, he didn't know why they were talking about the tree. It was sitting right in front of them looking ugly as hell. Why couldn't they try to make conversation out of something more interesting….like the way the hot chocolate tasted vaguely similar to heaven? Maybe Yoshino could teach his sister how to make hot chocolate appetizing. Better yet, maybe she could teach Temari how to cook. And he _knew _Yoshino could cook. He could smell the food from the kitchen, and it sure as hell DIDN'T smell burned like Temari's attempt at cooking usually did.

So after claiming that it was actually he who placed the tinsel in such an elaborate design on the tree, he turned his attention to his sister who was seated beside him. Bad move. She was getting cuddly with her boyfriend. That was actually sort of odd, considering he never thought his sister was the type to…show a soft side. At least it was an improvement from how she acted at home in Suna. (Point blankly, like a demon intent upon making his life miserable.)

Well at least he didn't have anything against the Nara besides the fact that he pitied him for being stuck with his _sister_ of all people. The genius was one of the few people he could actually tolerate, simply because Shikamaru was too lazy to fight back when Kankurou made fun of him. And, even though he would never admit it, Shikamaru _did _make his sister happy (and slightly less evil) and some weird caring part in the black hole that was Kankurou's heart actually cared for his sister. It was like love, but in that odd want-to-strangle-you kind of way. (But then again, that was the basis of the siblings' relationship.

He sighed and looked away from them. At least they were entertained. He, on the other hand, was completely and utterly bored. How long were Gaara and deer-boy's parents going to keep up this strained conversation? He didn't think they could comment on the glazed surface of the spherical ornaments any longer. Surely they were going to burst trying to think of what to say next?

Bored as hell, he once more turned his attention to the couple beside him, just in time to hear what Shikamaru had whispered into her ear. He vaguely wondered if Shikamaru meant 'ditch them to go to the _bedroom_.' So, with all the intent of embarrassing them, he remarked quite loudly, "I hope you guys are using protection."

That might have been a bad thing to say. Yoshino sputtered loudly into her glass of eggnog and Gaara turned sharply to glare at him. Needless to say, Temari narrowed her eyes at a dangerous level and shot him a look that quite frankly chilled his bones. Shikamaru didn't say anything. He merely slumped even further back into his chair with a furious blush on his face. Shikaku seemed to be the only one amused, as he was chuckling to himself.

Feeling nervous, Kankurou went on, "Er, you know, because I don't want to change any diapers in the near future?"

Temari made an odd hissing noise, her face red as she suddenly shot up with a grip on Shikamaru's arm. Kankurou had the distinct impression that his sister was refraining from going on a killing spree.

Yoshino spoke up suddenly, obviously getting over the shock of what Kankurou had said. "Where are you going, dear?" The endearment sounded strained, as if Yoshino herself wasn't exactly sure of using it.

Temari looked as if she had flinched from the word, but covered it up with a fake smile. "Outside," she said simply, already dragging Shikamaru out of the room. Only Kankurou had the grace of receiving the death glare she had sent over her shoulder.

"Be sure to wear a jacket!" Yoshino called out, and Kankurou heard a distinct huff of irritation from Temari before she slammed the door shut behind her.

He snickered. Even if death was most likely inevitable in his future, it was always funny to see his sister riled up as she was. Embarrassing Temari was the only way Kankurou could get back at her after being tormented by her constantly.

Gaara suddenly coughed, bringing Kankurou's attention to him. "Kankurou, go with them," he said in such a tone that chilled Kankurou. Instead of complaining as he normally did, he obliged and stood up because he actually valued his life.

"Oh, and Kankurou, be a dear and tell them dinner will be ready in twenty minutes," Yoshino said warmly.

Kankurou mentally shuddered. Now he knew what it was like being called 'dear.' Awfully degrading. He shrugged it off and walked towards the door. As soon as he opened it, he immediately regretted coming to Konoha at all. A blast of cold air shot through him, chilling his bones as he stepped outside and shut the door behind him. He was grateful for his outfit in Suna when it protected him from the harmful ways of the sun, but in Konoha it was thin enough for the cold to reach him fully.

He looked around for any signs of Shikamaru and Temari. They couldn't have gotten too far in only a few seconds, but he didn't see a trace of them. He stepped out into the snow, shivering as the frosty cold dampened his shoe. It was a horrible feeling, but he went on, walking across the yard and out onto the street.

Out of nowhere, something incredibly cold and wet hit him sharply on the back of his head. "Hey!" he called out, turning around to see Temari standing a ways down the road, one hand on her hip and a snowball poised in her other hand. Shikamaru was standing beside her, an amused look on his face.

"Hey, what? Stop hitting you with snowballs?" she called, throwing the other snowball at Kankurou. He tried desperately to duck, but Temari's aim was true. She hit him dead-on the center of his face. His nose stung as he tried to brush the snow off. Before he could even see clearly, another snowball, thrown this time by Shikamaru, hit him squarely on the nose.

"Oi!" he called, trying to lean down to scoop some snow off of the ground. A barrage of snowballs hit him this time. He fell backwards into the wet snow, feeling cold all over.

"Get your fat ass up and fight like a man!" Temari yelled, aiming another one at his face. This time he dodged, cursing, and jumped up. Only one thing was clear to him; he needed to find shelter to hide from his merciless sister.

"Not until you stop looking like one!" he called back, beginning to run down the road. He had to veer a corner suddenly to escape another barrage of snowballs. Thankfully, the road was a crowded market square where people were running around buying last minute Christmas gifts. He could easily blend in with the other people there.

With a snicker, Kankurou walked quickly into the crowd. He knew there was no possible way they were going to find him now! Those thought made him slow down from his trot and begin to walk almost leisurely. It wasn't as if they were going to spot him out of the crowd, anyway, so he might as well enjoy the decorations that were set up all over the place. Of course, he completely disregarded the fact that his outfit was unique and quite ostentatious in the crowd of villagers.

He stopped after a short while to admire the rather weird Christmas tree standing outside the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. A sudden tap on his shoulder made him spin around, fearful that Temari had found him. The grinning face of Naruto peered back at him.

"Hey Kankurou!"

Kankurou calmed down at the sight of Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto," he said, stepping away from the Christmas tree, happy that this particular person wasn't looking to kill him. "Merry Christmas."

"You, too, Kankurou." Naruto paused as a devilish smile appeared on his face. Kankurou quirked his eyebrows; what was that mischievous look in Naruto's eyes? "Sorry about this, but they promised me ramen!" he said before lurching forward and shoving a handful of snow into Kankurou's face.

"Argh!" Kankurou pawed at his face angrily as Naruto shot away laughing like a mad man. He knew he shouldn't have trusted the stupid blond! The familiar laughter of his sister rang through his ears as the banshee herself jumped off the roof of a building and landed in front of him. Shikamaru appeared beside her a second later, a lazy grin on his face.

"So, Kanky, what was that about me looking like a man?" she asked as she stepped forward with a smirk growing on her face. Kankurou knew that smirk. It was the same one she used when she knew she was overpowering her opponent. In one desperate, pathetic attempt, he tried to flee.

Bad move. A shadow darted towards him and he knew instantly it was the Nara. He was trapped, looking to all the world like a fool as he stood in the middle of the street, his shoulders slumped and his hands by his sides in an attempt to find nonexistent pockets. He could only wish that the shadow-punk didn't make some stupid pose and force Kankurou to copy it.

He fully realized what a bad position he was in as he looked ahead at the malicious _thing_ that unfortunately was his sister. An odd feeling told him he as about to get pummeled by snowballs. But all he needed was an escape! Something to distract the shadow punk so the jutsu broke! Something…Anything! In a flash of brilliance, he remembered Shikamaru's odd fear of Yoshino and he chuckled to himself. He had a plan.

"Oi, Nara," he called.

Said Nara flicked his vision towards the puppeteer but otherwise showed no sign of having heard him. Kankurou went on regardless.

"You're mother told me to tell you that dinner would be ready in twenty minutes."

Shikamaru shrugged, then, still listlessly staring ahead of him as the she-devil beside him looked on at their conversation in agitation.

_Sorry, sis, but no blood-shed today_, Kankurou couldn't help but think in his mind.

"But that was fifteen minutes ago. You now have five minutes to get home—"

He didn't even finish his sentence before the jutsu was cancelled. Snickering, he stepped away quite a distance and watched as Nara grabbed Temari's wrist frantically.

"Come on, we need to get home!" the puppet-boy said urgently, beginning to pull her forward, obviously fearful of the wrath his mother would bring upon him if they were to be late to dinner. Kankurou used this distraction to dash from the scene, listening to the sounds of Temari yelling in this distance as he ran further away.

In a matter of minutes he found himself at the Nara's doorstep. He was in an entirely different predicament than before when he first arrived. Then, he hadn't wanted to step foot inside the dreaded place, but now he was perfectly content to open the door and walk into the warm home. He knew under the watchful eye of Gaara (and possibly Yoshino), Temari wouldn't try to kill him. Or, at least she wouldn't be as successful.

* * *

**a/n: Next chapter, if ever: Nara Shikaku's POV. **


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